Oxford motorcyclist mowed down by car after fight at Lake Whalom bar

Saturday

Aug 3, 2013 at 6:08 PMAug 3, 2013 at 9:29 PM

By Donna Boynton, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

LEOMINSTER — State and local police are looking for the driver of an SUV who ran over and dragged a North Oxford man outside a Lake Whalom bar early Saturday morning, fleeing the scene and leaving the man dead in the street.

David M. Szafarowicz, 33, of 2 Thayer Pond Road, North Oxford, was killed when he was struck by a dark-colored Jeep Commander after a fight inside the Captain's Lounge, 1536 Main St., according to Timothy Connolly, spokesman for Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.

Mr. Szafarowicz was pronounced dead on Main Street in front of Captain's Lounge, Mr. Connolly said in a statement.

Mr. Szafarowicz was killed around 1 a.m. after a fight with several patrons inside the bar, among whom was the unidentified driver of the Jeep.

Police are looking for the driver of the dark-colored Jeep Commander — or similar vehicle. Anyone with information on the vehicle or the driver is asked to contact state police detectives assigned to the district attorney's office at (508) 832-9124.

The accident occurred on the Lunenburg/Leominster line, where orange paint markings and a large, dark red spot blotted with sand are in the middle of the road. Small pieces of crime scene tape were wrapped around street sign poles and the fence surrounding the lake.

Main Street turns into Lakefront Avenue in Lunenburg. The road runs between Whalom Lake and condominiums that stand on what was once Whalom Park.

Three bars line the road: RG Scooters and On The Rocks in Lunenburg and Captain's Lounge.

According to a man who as at one of the bars Friday night, a group of friends went to On the Rocks for drinks. The friends wanted to play pool, and went next door to Captain's Lounge. There, the victim and his girlfriend got into a verbal altercation with a patron.

The victim and his friends left, walking toward their parked motorcycle, while the other man went to his car. The car then, according to witness accounts, sped toward the victim, struck him and dragged him several feet before pausing and driving on.

"This was just such a random act that changed so many people's lives forever," said the man, who asked not to be identified.

Juan Toledo, a resident of Chase Avenue, was woken by the flashing lights in the wake of the incident on Lakefront Street.

"This area is pretty quiet, as far as crime," Mr. Toledo said. However, he said he has had to install an air conditioner in his window in the summer to drown out the noise from the bar crowds that gather at night.

Mr. Toledo moved to Chase Avenue last fall. He said starting in spring, the bars draw a young crowd and the street is full of the patrons' parked cars.

"We've heard fights before. There is usually a fight every night," Mr. Toledo said.

Follow Donna Boynton @DonnaBoyntonTG

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